Gabriel Obertan on brink of joining Newcastle United

08 August 2011 12:43

Pardew will then step up his hunt for a striker in the hope of bolstering his squad in time for Saturday night's powder-keg opener against Arsenal.

Angel Gabriel: Pardew is hoping Obertan can inject some pace

Obertan was set to complete his move from Manchester United today and sign a five-year contract to become the fifth Frenchman to sign for the Magpies this summer.

It's believed that Obertan will arrive at St James' Park hungry and with a point to prove after making just 14 Premier League appearances for the United in two years.

Pardew told the Chronicle: 'I said I wanted to bring pace into the team.

'It was lacking last year and Gabriel will definitely bring that to the team. He will be at the training ground today and having his medical.'

Pardew wasn't too disappointed to see the back of the pre-season schedule that has contained plenty of turbulent moments.

The manager addressed fans in his programme notes on Saturday and said: 'You deserve to see top-quality players at Newcastle.'

However, his quest to lure players toTyneside on a limited budget is proving to be a testing experience after missing out on a host of targets.

He continued: 'It has been a weird pre-season for us. The ?35m tag has been at the top of the agenda. Then there has been the situation with Joey.

'Through it all the players have worked really hard and we have good players here.'

One of Pardew's desired targets, Mevlut Erding, was restricted to just an eight-minute run-out against Lorient in Paris St Germain's opener for the season in France, with his side slipping to a 1-0 defeat.

Optimistic: Pardew hopes the club is on the cusp of a new era

Pardew says he will continue to fight on with his squad, even if it will be against the odds at times.

He said: 'We are putting out a team that has to excel because it is the only way we can compete. Any player who I put out on that pitch has to play above themselves.

'We did that last year, we lost Andy Carroll and we played above ourselves.' CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE FANTASY FOOTBALL GAMEBarton: It's Fab that Capello called me dangerous. it shows that I'm not invisibleNewcastle chase PSV defender Pieters as Enrique closes in on Liverpool switchAll the latest Newcastle news, features and opinionAll the latest Manchester United news, features and opinion